Bill Gates invested billions of dollars in stock to be based in Seattle Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trustis widely regarded as the world’s largest private foundation, founded through the merger of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation. According to trust, its aim is to address key humanitarian concerns such as poverty, lack of opportunity and infectious diseases. Over the past 30 years, Bill and Melinda have donated an estimated $47.7 billion in wealth to the foundation and predecessors. The foundation’s trust maintains a highly concentrated equity portfolio, reflecting the influence of Bill Gates and his longtime friend and former foundation trustee Warren Buffett.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has set a record $8.74 billion budget for 2025, with the aim of increasing annual distributions to $9 billion the following year. Mark Suzman, CEO of the foundation, said the record approval by its governing council is in line with the goals of the global foundation, wherever and where everyone deserves an opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life.
Previously considered a science fiction aspect, AI appears to have entered a normal life and is now finding its way to consumers and businesses. By 2035, Bill Gates predicts that artificial intelligence will take over the roles traditionally held by doctors, teachers and other professionals, leading to what he calls the era of “free intelligence.” According to Gates, this transition brings rapid advances in AI technology that is firmly integrated into everyday life, from better healthcare solutions and more accurate diagnosis to widespread access to AI tutors and virtual assistants.
However, while the possibilities are enormous, Gates acknowledges that there are “understandable and effective” concerns about the existing capabilities of AI. In a 2023 blog post, he said that even the most advanced AI systems can make mistakes and contribute to the spread of misinformation. Still, Gates is optimistic. If he set up a new company today, he told CNBC in September 2024 that it would become an “AI-centric” startup.
On this list, as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, we selected stocks from the 13F portfolio of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. These stocks are also popular among elite hedge funds.
Why are hedge funds interested in the stocks they accumulate? The reason is simple. Our research shows that mimic the top stock picks of the best hedge funds can outperform the market. Quarterly Newsletter’s strategy was to select 14 small and large caps per quarter, returning 373.4% since May 2014, surpassing the benchmark by 218 percentage points (For more information, please see here).
“Yeah, these are timeless.” – Jim Kramer, Waste Management, Inc. Call (WM) to Forever Stock
The aerial view of the Waste Management Transfer Station highlights the scale of its operation.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust shares: $6.5 billion
Number of hedge fund holders: 67
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) is a leader in the waste collection and disposal industry with dominant market share and unparalleled landfill ownership. In the first week of April, WM celebrated the epic openings of four important projects, including recycling facilities in Baltimore and Central Texas, as well as RNG facilities in Chicago and Philadelphia. These openings are part of the company’s broader initiative, with over $323 million already committed on these sites.
Jefferies recently appeared in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) stock price target increased to $257, highlighting the company’s strong financial quarter, with revenue and EBITDA surpassing consensus estimates. Meanwhile, Stifel maintained its purchase rating of $252 target price, citing outstanding fourth-quarter results and bullish outlook for waste management in 2025.
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) reported fourth quarter 2024 revenue of approximately $5.9 billion, up 13% year-on-year, driven by strong market demand, and efficiency of asset network expansion, collection and disposal services. However, due to high operating costs, the company’s adjusted EPS fell 2.3% to $1.70.
Diamond Hill’s Large Cap Intensive Fund stated the following in its fourth quarter 2024 regarding Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WM) Investor’s letter:
“As the valuations continue to rise and the economic cycle within the teeth has become relatively long, we have thought carefully about where and how we will be exposed to more cyclical inventory, so we have started three new positions in Q4.
Overall WM 3rd place A list of stock picks from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. While WM recognizes its potential as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks offer higher returns and hold a greater promise to do so within a shorter time frame. There have been AI stocks that have risen since the beginning of 2025, and the popular AI stocks have lost around 25%. If you’re looking for AI stocks that are more promising than WM but traded at less than 5 times the revenue, check out our report on this Cheapest AI stocks.
